A mother who believes her daughter was abused by nursery staff told a court the girl's phobias and changes in behaviour could not be put down to innocent explanations.

A mother who believes her daughter was abused by nursery staff told a court the girl's phobias and changes in behaviour could not be put down to innocent explanations.

"I know two-year-olds have tantrums; I know they do not sleep through all the night all the time," she told the High Court yesterday.

"I also know it's not normal to be so scared of other people, scared of life and scared of the world, and not normal for my daughter to talk about the things she talked about."

The mother of the girl known as child six was being cross-examined by Adrienne Page, QC, for Christopher Lillie, 37, and Dawn Reed, 31, former workers at the Newcastle nursery.

They have taken libel action against Newcastle City Council and the four-member team it commissioned to investigate complaints about the Newcastle nursery.

Under questioning by Gordon Bishop, for the council and team, the mother said her daughter was in the care of Mr Lillie and Ms Reed for four months before they were suspended. She stayed on at the nursery for another six months.

While there, the little girl's sleeping patterns changed, she would wake up crying and began refusing to go to the toilet. She developed a phobia of doctors and of having creams or ointments applied to her.

Soon after her daughter left the nursery, the mother said she started making disclosures of abuse.